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Sookie short stories

Monday, June 1, 2009

Diana in Bend, Ore.: What can you tell us about True Blood? I'm so excited for season two!We just chatted up True Blood star Stephen Moyer and asked him about the future of Nelsan Ellis' brilliant Lafayette, and Moyer said, "Lafayette, I can't talk about. Nelsan is an amazing dude, and, uh, I hope he does come back...but I, you know...who knows." There's no decisive statement in there, but "I hope he does come back" seems to suggest that Lafayette's gone somewhere, and for that matter, Nelsan's Lafayette also does not appear in any of the season two promo photos, the press releases or the books after Dead Until Dark. Long story short, we're starting to feel pretty naive for having believed/hoped the show was just toying with us and would find a way to keep Lafayette around for season two and beyond. We are going to need a lot of naked vampires to make up for this disaster. Post your Lafayette lamentations in the comments, and don't forget to check back soon for more from Stephen Moyer about True Blood season two.

Elana in Warsaw: Do you have any new True Blood news?Lesbians! You heard about the lesbians, right? Vampire queen Sophie and Sookie's cousin Lois Lane Hadley Hale end up sucking face. Now we just need to resolve this question: What's the most HoYay show on TV: Glee or True Blood? Call it in the comments...

A few days ago, I got to interview the brilliant STEPHEN MOYER who plays Bill on True Blood.

In addition to being my favorite show on TV right now, True Blood also has a great cast, which of course includes Stephen Moyer, one of the Emmy hopefuls this year. I think we can agree when I say that I hope he gets some recognition this year, along with the show, for the amazing performance he has given us as Bill in the show's first season.

Stephen Moyer was almost as excited as I am about season 2 of True Blood (which premieres on June 14 on HBO), and in addition to sharing his love for the show, he also talked about his process for creating Bill, as well as their highly anticipated return to Comic Con this year (which I teased about), and much more.

So even though the second season of True Blood might still be a few days away, you can at least enjoy his interview now.

Had you heard of the books before starring in the show?

Stephen Moyer: I had not ever heard of them. The closest I had ever gotten to the whole vampire genre was really Anne Rice. Once I had read the pilot I went and read the first couple of books very, very quickly. I loved Charlaine's [Harris] world. I loved the world that Charlaine has created and I think it's brilliant. She's very clever. It's funny, it's dark, and it's odd. It's really sexy. If you think about funny, dark, and sexy that's exactly what Alan Ball kind of created.

Have you read all of them now?

Stephen Moyer: No, no. I sort of made the decision not to, but I probably will read book three before we start season three. Sometimes she'll say something that Bill does or gesture, or physical something that I find very interesting, and I hadn't thought of. Occasionally I will slip back in and have a look at those things.

Unusual Suspects is a compilation of twelve stories featuring otherworldly investigations. From video game characters looking for equal rights to Santa Claus on holiday in New Zealand there is a little of something for everyone. With a visit to the Nightside included and a trip to Bon Temps, Sookie's hometown, there are some well known characters to check in on as well as some new ones.

Of course as it always goes with anthologies there will always be good and bad stories included. And as always, it depends on each reader as to which the good and bad stories are. For me the highlight and reason for me buying this book was the Sookie Stackhouse story. Not exactly the best short story but still worth getting hold of the book. Any Sookie story is worth reading and this one was no exception.

True Blood (June 14, HBO) - It's time for the second season of everyone's favorite vampire show to start, and it looks like the drama is far from over for Sookie Stackhouse. Not only is there a new murderer in town, but her relationship with Bill is tested thanks to him siring new vampire Jessica. Sam's past with Maryanne is brought into question now that Tara is under her wing, and Jason creeps closer to the Fellowship of the Sun. This season promises love triangles, magic, plenty of mysterious supernatural creatures, and religious cults. Sound exciting enough for you?

STIR 1-1/4 cups boiling water into 1 pkg. gelatin in small bowl at least 2 minutes until completely dissolved. Pour 3/4 cup of the dissolved gelatin into 8-cup ring mold sprayed with no stick cooking spray. Refrigerate about 15 minutes or until set but not firm (gelatin should stick to finger when touched). Refrigerate remaining gelatin in bowl about 5 minutes or until slightly thickened (consistency of unbeaten egg whites). Gradually stir in 3 Tbsp. of the sour cream. Spoon over gelatin in pan. Refrigerate about 15 minutes or until gelatin is set but not firm (gelatin should stick to finger when touched).

REPEAT process with each remaining gelatin flavor. (Be sure to cool dissolved gelatin to room temperature before pouring into mold.) Refrigerate gelatin as directed to create a total of 10 alternating clear and creamy gelatin layers.

Bloodcopy received an email in the old mailbag entitled "We Want You For the Zombie Army." Needless to say, we were intrigued.

So, for real, if any of you New Yorkers are in town next weekend and want to be one of 800 extras in an independent film called "Isle of the Dead," rsvp here by tomorrow, June 1. It's all happening on Governors Island.

If half the people I see at bars on the Lower East Side on weekend nights sign up, the producers should be good to go. Bloodcopy is even sending some of its daytime guys to contribute their usual haggard-Sunday look to the fracas.

The Strain: Book One of The Strain Trilogy by Guillermo Del Toro & Chuck Hogan (Morrow Hardcover)

The visionary creator of the Academy Award-winning Pan's Labyrinth and a Hammett Award-winning author bring their imaginations to this bold, epic novel about a horrifying battle between man and vampire that threatens all humanity. It is the first installment in a thrilling trilogy and an extraordinary international publishing event.

They have always been here. Vampires. In secret and in darkness. Waiting. Now their time has come. In one week, Manhattan will be gone. In one month, the country…In two months--the world.

A Boeing 777 arrives at JFK and is on its way across the tarmac, when it suddenly stops dead. All window shades are pulled down. All lights are out. All communication channels have gone quiet. Crews on the ground are lost for answers, but an alert goes out to the CDC. Dr. Eph Goodweather, head of their Canary project, a rapid-response team that investigates biological threats, gets the call and boards the plane. What he finds makes his blood run cold.

In a pawnshop in Spanish Harlem, a former professor and survivor of the Holocaust named Abraham Setrakian knows something is happening. And he knows the time has come, that a war is brewing . . . So begins a battle of mammoth proportions as the vampiric virus that has infected New York begins to spill out into the streets. Eph, who is joined by Setrakian and a motley crew of fighters, must now find a way to stop the contagion and save his city--a city that includes his wife and son--before it is too late.

You an read chapter one and watch a video interview with del Toro here on Amazon

The Charlaine Harris book series, as re-imagined by “Six Feet Under” creator Alan Ball, is a political satire, romance and murder mystery set in a world where vampires don’t need to feed on humans – but sometimes do – and where the buxom Sookie Stackhouse is the literal center of the action.

During the first season, she is pursued by a killer and courted by both a 173-year-old vampire named Bill and her tender boss, Sam (not a werewolf but a shape-shifter), all while having to deal with dead bodies piling up around her, the vile thoughts of her vampire-hating human clientele and a brother addicted to sex and vampire blood, a potent hallucinogen.

“It’s powerful and moving and scary and completely crazy,” says Anna Paquin, who says she stalked Ball for the part of Sookie. “Our show is definitely not for everyone, but all of us who work on it are obsessed.”

he mix is an acquired taste, to be sure, but ratings indicate a growing group of thrill seekers. According to HBO, the “True Blood” audience started small but grew throughout the season.

Chasing after the role has paid off for Paquin. She won a Golden Globe for lead actress in January, and, unlike other Hollywood actors who feign indifference about award season, she doesn’t quickly dismiss it.

“Obviously, I’m really grateful for (award season) as a concept. If I hadn’t won an Oscar when I was, like, 11, I’m guessing I wouldn’t have a career right now,” the actress says.

In 1993, she became the second-youngest performer to win an Oscar for her portrayal of a child translating for her mute mother in Jane Campion’s “The Piano.”

It probably will be more of an uphill battle for “True Blood” when it comes to Emmy voters, a group long spooked by genre shows, snubbing critical favorites like “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” season after season.

But timing could be on its side. Season 2 premieres June 14, less than two weeks before nomination ballots are due, and the intensity hasn’t let up. Sookie and her vampire suitor are now the adoptive “parents” to Jessica, the teen Bill was forced to turn into a vampire as punishment for killing another vampire.

“Trouble, as usual,” Paquin says. “But if you already watch the show, you know that’s going to be the least of it.”